To be honest, while Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness were usually an absolute disaster of a group, if their abilities were fully utilized, they were more reliable than almost any other team.
Kazuma may be of the weakest class, and even at Level 30 his stats were lower than most average Level 10s, but he had a sharp mind and an absurdly high luck stat. If put in charge, he could probably even trick a Demon King general into defeat. The vampire incident was the best proof of that.
Aqua went without saying, against Undead and evil demons, she was practically invincible. Even outside those niches, her extremely high magical power let her offer all-around support, healing, and even resurrection. Even if facing an entire army, she could still manage large-scale support magic with ease. In full-scale battle, she was a terrifying powerhouse.
Megumin, despite only being able to cast Explosion Magic once per day, and being a burden before and after that single use, had reinforced her Explosion spell to an extreme degree. With magic power second only to Aqua, her one shot had previously blasted every Hero Candidate in the Royal Capital sky-high, nearly killing them. If that attack landed on an enemy battlefield, the threat would be nuclear level.
Even Darkness, who couldn't land a single hit, could activate her decoy skill and take the front lines. With defensive power unmatched by anyone Fang Li had ever seen, she could block a full-scale charge from an entire army.
So Fang Li understood well:
As adventurers, these four were hopeless. But on the battlefield, each one could play an incredibly powerful role.
Together, they could easily determine the outcome of a war, or even crush the opposing side outright.
That's no exaggeration.
It's just that… they all had their own quirks and flaws.
But with the right person around, someone who could bring out their full potential, then this team could truly shine.
And Fang Li believed that Iris absolutely had that capability.
After all, unlike Fang Li's cold, suppressive leadership style, Iris only had to shed a few tears and these four would instantly behave, obediently restraining themselves and eager to help her.
So, even setting aside factors related to the Main God's Dimension, Fang Li would still choose to leave these four here.
"I don't really have any sense of belonging to this country," Fang Li admitted with an indifferent smile for the first time. "No matter what happens to it, I honestly don't care. Even if the whole world were conquered by the Demon King's army, I'd probably just do whatever I feel like and never get any heroic urge to save anyone."
He showed a wry, helpless expression as he looked at the four before him.
"But… since that little girl is this kingdom's princess, I guess I don't have much choice."
Fang Li still didn't know how to feel about Iris's bold confession, and even her outright marriage proposal. It left him half amused, half exasperated.
After all, Iris was still only twelve years old. Fang Li, having only spent about a month with her, obviously didn't harbor any romantic feelings. He saw her as someone who resembled a person important to him, and because of that, he couldn't help but worry about her.
Up to now, there were very few people Fang Li could say he genuinely liked.
Sylvia was the only one he could clearly say he loved.
As for Emilia and Rem, after becoming aware of their feelings, Fang Li had developed some romantic emotions toward them as well. Aside from them, the number of women who Fang Li truly kept in his heart was extremely small.
One of them was Aria, his partner who had made a promise with him.
Shirayuki, who had looked after Fang Li's daily life for an entire year, not without a bit of a dark side, probably held feelings for Fang Li as deep as, if not deeper than, those of Sylvia. So she counted as one of the few.
Riko, sometimes a friend, sometimes an enemy, had also spent nearly a year interacting with Fang Li. Though she always seemed to be joking, she never took her eyes off him. She too could be counted among them.
Naturally, Arcueid, who had willingly sacrificed herself to eternal slumber to save Fang Li, giving him all her power, was certainly one of them as well.
As for Iris, her feelings were more rooted in admiration and longing. So while Fang Li didn't have the heart to shatter a young girl's dreams, he more so saw her as a little sister he couldn't ignore, much like Shana, a girl who only knew how to charge forward, appearing calm but in truth reckless, someone you couldn't help but keep an eye on.
If someone who understood Fang Li's true nature were to learn that he had made room in his heart for so many people, they'd probably be quite shocked.
A Murdering Demon who felt nothing toward death, couldn't summon a shred of compassion for life, and only lived by doing as he pleased, caring for no one or nothing beyond his own will, harboring such sentiments in his heart? It was, without doubt, surprising.
But if it were Ryougi Shiki, she would understand completely.
"Precisely because there's nothing in your heart... you can hold more inside it."
That's why drawing Fang Li's attention wasn't actually all that difficult.
For people like Fang Li and Ryougi Shiki, if they were walking alone down a dark alley and someone chased after them to warn them of the danger, they'd definitely turn around to look.
Because... that was something they themselves would never do.
They both understood just how fragile life was, and how simple death could be.
And precisely because of that, they yearned for the kinds of things they themselves wouldn't do, yearned for those small glimmers of light found within fragility and simplicity.
Fang Li's "do as I please" nature meant he would never turn back. But, if someone was willing to chase after him, then he would be willing to stop and wait.
Now, that was exactly what was happening: Someone was gradually catching up to him. One of them was even already walking alongside him, matching his pace, wearing a smile of stunning beauty.
And when Fang Li finally stopped to look back, he would realize:
"So many people have already caught up to me."
It was really that simple.
Iris, she was one of those people chasing after him.
Her pure admiration, her personality that made others worry, made Fang Li, though he didn't stop walking, still listen for the sound of her footsteps behind him, silently thinking:
"At the very least, don't trip and fall."
And so, he wouldn't mind casually kicking away any obstacles in her path, lessening the chances of her falling.
In that spirit, Fang Li turned to Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness, and spoke: "So, I'm counting on you all… Stay behind and help that little princess."
His words brought a rare silence to the group.
And in the end, each one could only nod helplessly.
Seeing this, Fang Li finally smiled.
"Then I leave her to you. My companions."
(End Of This Chapter)
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